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Marouane Fellaini looked impressive on his return as United overcame Palace. PA Wire/Press Association Images
Analysis

5 talking points from Saturday's Premier League action

Steve Bruce praises Shane Long, Olivier Giroud silences his critics and more from today’s games.

1. Everton’s lack of cutting edge costing them in Champions League race

For much of Everton’s clash with Chelsea today, the Toffees matched and even outplayed the league leaders for large spells.

Nevertheless, Robert Martinez’s side’s dominance, especially in the first half, counted for little, as Chelsea won the game thanks to a last-minute John Terry goal.

The loss of Lacina Traore prior to kick-off through injury set the template in what was a frustrating day for the Goodison Park outfit.

Steven Naismith, Traore’s replacement, produced a workmanlike but ultimately ineffectual performance, while their attack play and finishing in general was inept.

It was a game similar to their recent defeat by Tottenham — another occasion when Everton failed to translate their superiority into goals.

2. Don’t write off Marouane Fellaini just yet

Many have already labelled Marouane Fellaini — Man United’s expensive and sole high-profile purchase in the summer transfer window — as a flop.

Yet to dismiss a player on the basis of just eight performances is patently ridiculous.

Moreover, despite being out of action for a few months, Fellaini delivered a decent performance this evening as United overcame Palace 2-0.

The 26-year-old was tidy in possession and his intelligent play had an influence throughout the team — as others, most notably Michael Carrick, appeared to raise their game to a degree on account of the injection of confidence provided by the Belgian.

The £26.5million signing of Fellaini may yet prove a mistake, but for today at least, he has silenced his critics.

3. Have teams figured out how to play City?

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There have been times this season where Manchester City have looked invincible at home (and to a lesser extent away), regularly making the game look easy by putting four or five goals past their hapless opponents.

The 5-1 defeat of Tottenham at the end of January was a prime example of their remarkable prowess, however since then, they have looked less accomplished, and have managed just three goals in their subsequent five matches.

This afternoon, amid an unconvincing 1-0 victory over Stoke, their strikers looked unusually shot-shy and out of sorts, with Edin Dzeko’s poor miss (see above) epitomising their sudden inefficiency in attack.

Yet perhaps City’s recent lacklustre form is more to do with their opponents gaining a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses — whereas earlier in the campaign, they were putting seven past the likes of Norwich, they recently failed to score even once against the same opposition.

4. Giroud shows strength of character

Having been surprisingly dropped for Arsenal’s midweek Champions League game, Olivier Giroud responded in perfect fashion today.

The striker, who has had some well-documented personal problems of late, was instrumental as the Gunners beat Sunderland, scoring a brace and setting up his side’s sublime third goal.

For Giroud to recover so quickly from what was presumably one of the low points of his career shows immense character and is evidence of the type of mental fortitude that Arsenal players are so often accused of lacking.

“I had no hesitation about Olivier,” Arsene Wenger explained after the match. “I wanted him to come back and be successful, and he was.”

5. Long-inspired Hull too good to go down

Will today be remembered as the occasion in which Hull effectively cast all doubts of relegation aside?

Steve Bruce’s team produced a clinical away display, beating fellow strugglers Cardiff 4-0.

And while Long was not among the goalscorers, Bruce still sought to single out the Irish striker for praise – as well as strike partner  Nikica Jelavic.

“It was a strange afternoon but I’ve said for a long, long time that strikers make the difference. Today, Long and Jelavic in particular have got the goals,” Bruce told Sky Sports.

“At this level, it’s so vitally important because we know how difficult it is. They’ve only been at the club for three or four weeks and already Jelavic has three and Longy has a couple, which helps overall.”

Long and Jelavic are not the only astute signings Bruce has made in recent times, with Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore also enjoying good seasons.

It would thus be a huge surprise if a side with such talent at their disposal end up in the bottom three come the end of the campaign.

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